Mike Dart - Basket Weaving

Basket Weaving

Dart is an award winning Cherokee artist, specializing in the art of contemporary double-wall basketry – an exceptionally difficult technique involving the continuous weave of both an interior and exterior wall within each basket.

Mike learned the art of basketry in 1992 from master Cherokee weaver, Shawna Morton-Cain who was designated a Living Treasure of the Cherokee Nation in 2006 for her knowledge and skill in the art of Cherokee basketry. However he says that his interest in basketry began during childhood when he would watch his grandmother, the late Pauline Dart weave baskets and build woven furniture out of willow, hickory and other materials native to the land around her home.

Mike's baskets are generally classified as "contemporary" because his primary media are contemporary materials such as rattan reed and RIT Fabric and other aniline dyes. However, he does weave with natural materials such as honeysuckle and buckbrush (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus). But he says that he will always weave with contemporary materials because it allows him to express himself better artistically, and there are certain colors he likes to use that cannot be obtained from natural materials. He defines the difference between traditional and contemporary as the following: "A Cherokee basket is classified as traditional if it is woven in a traditional way, and all the materials and dyed are natural. A Cherokee basket is classified as contemporary if it is woven in a traditional way using commercially manufactured materials and dyes. Some weavers will use both natural and commercial materials. This is called using 'mixed mediums' and it fits into the contemporary category."

• "War Cry" by Mike Dart

• "Large Gathering Basket" by Mike Dart